Video: David Letterman says goodbye to 'Late Night' in 1993

There's been plenty of amazing David Letterman footage spreading on the Internet since the talk-show host announced his retirement from the "Late Show with David Letterman" on Thursday. But here's a special video from his last day hosting his previous show, "Late Night with David Letterman," on NBC in 1993.

Letterman, then 46, let Katie Couric sit in his chair for his exit interview. When Couric, then a TODAY host, wondered how he was feeling, Letterman spoke with his usual candor about his long relationship with NBC, which began in 1977, and how "nothing was exciting to me or as satisfying as appearing" on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.

"If you think about it, you can let yourself get into sort of a synthetic, sentimental frame of mind because it has all the trappings of an event...this may mean something more than just going to a different job," he said.

Letterman, who was expected by many to take over the "Tonight Show" hosting gig when Carson retired, said he never envisioned leaving NBC.

"I always wanted to stay here," he said. "I liked it here. I liked everybody. And now that I'm leaving, that makes me sad. But you don't want to dwell on that, because it's not like I'm going to prison."

Letterman has surpassed his idol, Carson, and become the longest-running late-night talk show host in history. He said on Thursday that he will retire sometime next year.